Archive for the ‘Reti Nf3, c4’ Category

Here are some funny games that I played during the 70s featuring some classic personalities.

Region III Championship 10/24/76 40/2

Mark Ginsburg (2173) – Charlie Powell (2304)

Reti/Gruenfeld

Charlie was a real Southern gentleman with a discernible Virginia accent. Unflappable even in severe time trouble, he was a wizard with the initiative. However, he was extremely erratic. Sometimes he lost badly as in this game and sometimes he played like a genius. For example, he was unstoppable in the old National Chess League, or NCL, (that was played via telephone) in the 70s on the Washington Plumbers squad (named after the Nixon Watergate incident). You can also see how well he did in Virginia State Championships. Kudos to IM Greg Shahade for resurrecting the NCL into a new Internet form (eminently logical) – now named US Chess League. The Washington Plumbers also recruited, at times, GMs Kavalek and Andersson but that’s another story. I played on occasion, as did Robert Eberlein, John Meyer, future World Junior Champ Mark Diesen, and Robin Spital.

Charlie played a particularly good game vs IM John Peters in the NCL that I will find. He was a swashbuckling figure who would arrive late, dressed a bit like Errol Flynn, on his motorcycle. He would often have a lady friend at his side during the game. He was a natural talent of the first order, much like Michael Rohde and Michael Wilder after him.

18. Nxd5 Black’s pieces are tied to each other and overloaded, so he loses a lot of material. For example, 18…Qxa5 19. bxa5 Rxc1 20. Nxe7+! (classical zwischenzug) and white remains up a piece. Black resigned.

1-0

Atlantic Congress

4/17/1977

Sal Matera (2421) – Mark Ginsburg (2157) Round 3, 40/2

Sal Matera from New York City became an IM in the 1980s along with Ken Rogoff (who went on to become a GM) and Andy Soltis (ditto).

I was too young to utilize chess psychology but actually I’m making a really good opening choice here. Sal was a very careful, solid player so a provocative opening is perfect – he wouldn’t try to punish it outright. So the text, although seemingly way out there, actually carries very little risk.